Luminous indicia display device



'L. F. POWELL LUMINOUS INDIGIA DISPLAY DEVICE April 28, 1942.

Filed March 26, 1941 wm MW M M We a m w w ov m P W \m z E emu-MS Patented Apr. v28, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE LUMINOUS INDICIA DISPLAY DEVICE Lawrence F. Powell, Denton, Tex.

Application March 26, 1941 Serial No. 385,343

1 Claim. (Cl. 40-134) a device of the foregoing described character so constructed and arranged whereby the same may be readily attached on walls, doors and similar structures.

A still further object of my. invention is to providea device of the foregoing described character which is constructed with a relatively flat surface to facilitate attachment of the same to a supporting surface.

A special object of my invention is to provide a device of the foregoing describedcharacter having a housing capable oft.bei g'f'ashioned from a one-piece blank oLmaterial. n

An important object of my inventionisto provide a device of the character described which-is simple in construction, durable in use, eflicient in a.Woperationandeconomical in manufacture.

w gnwtlie above and other objects in view, as (hereinafter appear, the invention consists in he combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter set forth and illustrated in the accompanying drawing from which the several features of the invention and the advantages attained thereby will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

Referring to the drawing wherein like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my invention.

Figures 2, 3 and 4 are sectional views taken on the lines 2-2, 3-3 and l-4 respectively of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the blank.

The end and side sections, when thus folded, constitute the front wall H while the bottom section I constitutes the rear wall l2 of the housing 5.

Interjacent their length, the end sections 8 are each provided with outer and inner portions M and I5 respectively and with the inner portion l5 disposed in appressed relation with the front face of the rear wall I3. The outer portions l4 are outwardly offset, with respect to the inner portions I5 and on fold lines IT, to dispose said outer --"port'ions I4 and the side sections 9 in spatiality As illustrated in the drawing, I provide a housing 5 formed from a one-piece blank 6 comprising an elongated body section 1 fashioned with pairs of end and side sections 8 and 9 respecwith respect to the rear wall. The end and side sections 8 and 9 are formed with angled end faces l8 disposed in abutting relation and said sections coact to define a window opening IS in the front of the housing.

Disposed within the housing 5 between the front and rear walls, is a transparent member or pane of glass 20, having its rear face, adjacent the front face of the rear wall I3, provided with luminous indicia or a character 2| formed thereon by means of a substantially white composition or paint consisting of radio-sensitive material, such as zinc or calcium sulfid and a small quantity of radio-active material, such as a salt of radium, the latter rendering the radiosensitive material permanently luminous in the dark. The rear face of the member 5 is provided with a plurality of coats of shellac 22 or the like to protect and cover the back of the indicia as clearly illustrated in Figure 4. Both sides of the front and rear walls are coated with black material, for instance, black enamel 23 whereby the a rear and front walls provide black background and framing respectively to accentuate the luminosity of the indicia 2! arranged on the member 5 within the confines of the window opening when the device is displayed in the dark.

Without further elaboration the foregoing will so fully explain the invention that others may, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service. Moreover, it is not indispensable that all the features of the invention be used conjointly since they may be employed advantageously in various combinations and sub-combinations.

It is obvious that the invention is not confined to the herein described use therefor as it may be utilized for-any purpose to which it is adaptable.. It is therefore to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific construction as illustrated and described as the same is only illustrative of the principles of operation, which are capable of extended application in varplied to the face of the panel nextto the-back wall and viewable through the panel by way of the window opening, a protective coating applied to the face of the rear wall next to the panel for protecting the luminous material, and a black coating applied to the rear and front walls to provide black background and framing respectively for accentuating the luminosity of the characters through the panel. LAWRENCE F. POWELL. 

